New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
2 Kings 17
1
Hoshea became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 12th year that Ahaz was king of Judah. Hoshea ruled for nine years. He was the son of Elah.
2
Hoshea did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. But he wasn't as evil as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.
3
Shalmaneser came up to attack Hoshea. Shalmaneser was king of Assyria. He had been Hoshea's master. He had forced Hoshea to bring him gifts.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Hosea 10:14
4
But the king of Assyria found out that Hoshea had turned against him. Hoshea had sent messengers to So, the king of Egypt. Hoshea didn't send gifts to the king of Assyria anymore. He had been sending them every year. So Shalmaneser grabbed hold of him and put him in prison.
People
5
The king of Assyria marched into the whole land of Israel. He marched to Samaria and surrounded it for three years. From time to time he attacked it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hosea 13:16
6
Finally, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. It was in the ninth year of Hoshea. The king of Assyria took the people of Israel away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria. He settled some of them in Halah. He settled others in Gozan on the Habor River. And he settled still others in the towns of the Medes.
Reference
📍 Locations
7
All of that took place because the people of Israel had committed sins against the Lord their God. He had brought them up out of Egypt. He had brought them out from under the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But they worshiped other gods.
Reference
8
The Lord had driven out other nations to make room for them. But they followed the evil practices of those nations. They also followed the practices that the kings of Israel had started.
Reference
9
The people of Israel did things against the Lord their God in secret. What they did wasn't right. They built high places for worship in all of their towns. They built them at lookout towers. They also built them at cities that had high walls around them.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Kings 18:8
10
They set up sacred stones. And they set up poles that were used to worship the goddess Asherah. They did that on every high hill and under every green tree.
Reference
11
The Lord had driven out nations to make room for Israel. But the people of Israel burned incense at every high place, just as those nations had done. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord very angry.
12
They worshiped statues of gods. They did it even though the Lord had said, "Do not do that."
13
The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all of his prophets and seers. He said, "Turn from your evil ways. Keep my commands and rules. Obey every part of my Law. I commanded your people who lived long ago to obey it. And I gave it to you through my servants the prophets."
Reference
Evil
Jeremiah 18:11
Deuteronomy 31:21
Prophecy
Jeremiah 35:15
1 Samuel 9:9
References Israel
Ezekiel 18:31
14
But the people wouldn't listen. They were as stubborn as their people of long ago had been. Those people didn't trust in the Lord their God.
Reference
15
They refused to obey his rules. They broke the covenant he had made with them. They didn't pay any attention to the warnings he had given them. They worshiped worthless statues of gods. Then they themselves became worthless. They followed the example of the nations that were around them. They did it even though the Lord had ordered them not to. He had said, "Do not do as they do." They did the very things the Lord had told them not to do.
Reference
Covenant
Jeremiah 31:32
Creation
1 Kings 16:13
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 32:21
Psalm 115:8
Jeremiah 44:4
Jeremiah 10:8
Jeremiah 10:15
References Lord
Jeremiah 2:5
Jeremiah 8:9
Jeremiah 44:23
16
They turned away from all of the commands of the Lord their God. They made two statues of gods for themselves. The statues were shaped like calves. They made a pole that was used to worship the goddess Asherah. They bowed down to all of the stars. And they worshiped the god Baal.
Reference
Creation
1 Kings 12:28
1 Kings 14:15
1 Kings 16:33
1 Kings 15:13
2 Kings 21:3
Parallel theme
1 Kings 14:23
References Lord
2 Kings 11:18
Worship
1 Kings 16:31
Deuteronomy 4:19
1 Kings 22:53
17
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced all kinds of evil magic. They gave themselves over to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord. All of those things made him very angry.
Reference
Evil
2 Kings 21:6
1 Kings 21:20
1 Kings 21:25
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 23:37
Leviticus 19:26
Micah 5:12
References Lord
2 Kings 16:3
Leviticus 18:21
18
So the Lord was filled with anger against Israel. He removed them from his land. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Kings 11:13
1 Kings 11:36
References Israel
1 Kings 11:32
1 Kings 12:20
Hosea 11:12
19
And even Judah didn't obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started.
Reference
20
So the Lord turned his back on all of the people of Israel. He made them suffer. He handed them over to people who stole everything they had. And finally he threw them out of his land.
Reference
21
He tore Israel away from the royal house of David. The people of Israel made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, their king. Jeroboam tried to get Israel to stop following the Lord. He caused them to commit a terrible sin.
Reference
22
The people of Israel were stubborn. They continued to commit all of the sins Jeroboam had committed. They didn't turn away from them.
23
So the Lord removed them from his land. That's what he had warned them he would do. He had given that warning through all of his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken away from their country. They were forced to go to Assyria. And that's where they still are.
Reference
Prophecy
2 Kings 17:13
References Israel
2 Kings 17:6
1 Kings 14:16
References Lord
Amos 5:27
2 Kings 17:20
2 Kings 17:18
24
The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon. He also brought them from Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. He settled all of them in the towns of Samaria. They took the place of the people of Israel. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.
Reference
📍 Locations
25
When they first lived there, they didn't worship the Lord. So he sent lions among them. And the lions killed some of the people.
Reference
26
A report was given to the king of Assyria. He was told, "You forced people to leave their own homes. You settled them in the towns of Samaria. But they don't know what the god of that country requires. So he has sent lions among them. And the lions are killing the people off. That's because the people don't know what that god requires."
27
Then the king of Assyria gave an order. He said, "Get one of the priests you captured from Samaria. Send him back to live there. Have him teach the people what the god of that land requires."
28
So one of the priests went back to live in Bethel. He was one of those who had been forced to leave Samaria. He taught the people there how to worship the Lord.
29
In spite of that, the people from each nation made statues of their own gods. They made them in all of the towns where they had settled. They set up those statues in small temples. The people of Samaria had built the temples at the high places.
Reference
30
The people from Babylon made statues of the god Succoth Benoth. Those from Cuthah made statues of Nergal. Those from Hamath made statues of Ashima.
📍 Locations
31
The Avvites made statues of Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites sacrificed their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech. They were the gods of Sepharvaim.
Reference
📍 Sepharvaim
32
So the people of Samaria worshiped the Lord. But they also appointed all kinds of their own people to serve them as priests. The priests served in the small temples at the high places.
Reference
33
The people worshiped the Lord. But they also served their own gods. They followed the evil practices of the nations from which they had been brought.
Reference
34
They are still stubborn. They continue in their old practices to this very day. And now they don't even worship the Lord. They don't follow his directions and rules. They don't obey his laws and commands. The Lord had given all of those laws to the family of Jacob. He gave the name Israel to Jacob.
Reference
References Israel
Genesis 32:28
Genesis 35:10
References Lord
Isaiah 48:1
2 Kings 17:25
2 Kings 17:33
Word
1 Kings 18:31
35
The Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel. At that time he commanded them, "Do not worship any other gods. Do not bow down to them. Do not serve them or sacrifice to them.
Reference
Covenant
Joshua 23:16
2 Kings 17:15
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 10:5
References God
Judges 6:10
Joshua 23:7
36
I am the one you must worship. I brought you up out of Egypt by my great power. I saved you by reaching out my mighty arm. You must bow down to me. You must offer sacrifices to me.
Reference
37
You must always be careful to follow my directions and rules. You must obey the laws and commands I wrote for you. Do not worship other gods.
Reference
38
"Do not forget the covenant I made with you. And remember, you must not worship other gods.
Reference
39
Instead, worship me. I will save you from the powerful hand of all of your enemies. I am the Lord your God."
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 10:7
Nehemiah 9:27
Matthew 10:28
Luke 1:50
References Lord
2 Kings 17:36
1 Samuel 12:24
40
But the people wouldn't listen. Instead, they were stubborn. They continued in their old practices.
Chapter Summary
This chapter records the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and explains why this disaster occurred. It is one of the most important historical and theological chapters in 2 Kings because it marks the end of Israel as an independent kingdom and connects that destruction with generations of covenant rebellion.
Hoshea becomes the final king of Israel. At first he submits to Assyria and pays tribute to Shalmaneser, but he later stops paying and seeks help from Egypt. Assyria responds by invading Israel and besieging Samaria. After a three-year siege, Samaria falls around 722 BC, and large numbers of Israelites are deported to different parts of the Assyrian Empire.
The writer makes clear that Israel's destruction was not simply the result of Assyria's military power. Israel had repeatedly rejected the Lord. The people worshiped idols, served Baal, maintained golden calves, built high places, worshiped heavenly bodies, practiced sorcery, and even sacrificed their children. God repeatedly sent prophets to warn them, but they refused to listen.
The chapter then describes what happened after the deportation. Assyria brought people from Babylon and several other regions and settled them in the cities of Samaria. These newcomers experienced attacks by lions and concluded that they needed to learn how to worship the God of the land. A priest from Samaria was therefore returned to teach them.
However, the new inhabitants did not completely abandon their former gods. They worshiped the Lord while continuing to serve their own idols. This created a mixed religious system that became characteristic of the later Samaritan population.
The central message of the chapter is that God's judgment followed generations of persistent rebellion and rejected warnings. Israel's fall was not sudden or unexpected. God had repeatedly called the people back to Him, but they refused.
At the same time, the chapter emphasizes God's faithfulness to His covenant. He had clearly told Israel how to live and whom to worship. Their failure to obey eventually brought the consequences He had warned about.
Hoshea becomes the final king of Israel. At first he submits to Assyria and pays tribute to Shalmaneser, but he later stops paying and seeks help from Egypt. Assyria responds by invading Israel and besieging Samaria. After a three-year siege, Samaria falls around 722 BC, and large numbers of Israelites are deported to different parts of the Assyrian Empire.
The writer makes clear that Israel's destruction was not simply the result of Assyria's military power. Israel had repeatedly rejected the Lord. The people worshiped idols, served Baal, maintained golden calves, built high places, worshiped heavenly bodies, practiced sorcery, and even sacrificed their children. God repeatedly sent prophets to warn them, but they refused to listen.
The chapter then describes what happened after the deportation. Assyria brought people from Babylon and several other regions and settled them in the cities of Samaria. These newcomers experienced attacks by lions and concluded that they needed to learn how to worship the God of the land. A priest from Samaria was therefore returned to teach them.
However, the new inhabitants did not completely abandon their former gods. They worshiped the Lord while continuing to serve their own idols. This created a mixed religious system that became characteristic of the later Samaritan population.
The central message of the chapter is that God's judgment followed generations of persistent rebellion and rejected warnings. Israel's fall was not sudden or unexpected. God had repeatedly called the people back to Him, but they refused.
At the same time, the chapter emphasizes God's faithfulness to His covenant. He had clearly told Israel how to live and whom to worship. Their failure to obey eventually brought the consequences He had warned about.